By Ethiopian Airlines
News Release – Ethiopian Airlines
April 25, 2012
Ethiopian Airlines, the first African airline to operate the 787, has trained eight pilots on the 787 Dreamliner at the Boeing Flight Services campus located at Gatwick, London. Additional batches of trainees are conducting 787 training in the same facility.
Boeing has been granted approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide flight training for pilots preparing to operate the new Boeing 787. With 787 training, pilots can transition to the new airplane in five to 20 days, depending on previous pilot experience. Boeing 777 pilots can qualify to fly the 787 in as little as five days, given the high level of commonality between the two airplane types.
“This is an important milestone in the history of Ethiopian Airlines,” said Captain Desta Zeru, Senior Vice President of Flight Operations for Ethiopian Airlines. “Our pilots are now qualified as the first African pilots to fly the 787.
"We are proud to support Ethiopian Airlines as they grow their business with the 787 Dreamliner," said Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer, Boeing Flight Services. "World class training for a world class airplane is part of the Boeing Edge we work hard to provide to our customers."
The Boeing 787 flight training program uses an innovative suite of training devices including a full-flight simulator, flight training device and desktop simulation station to ensure that pilots are ready to fly the Dreamliner.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946. With the latest addition of new services to Seychelles, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 65 international destinations spanning four continents.
Ethiopian is proud to be a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience. The Star Alliance network offers more than 21,000 daily flights to 1,290 airports in 189 countries.
Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. Recently, Ethiopian won Gold in the African Airline of the Year 2011/2012 Awards organized by the African Aviation News Portal. Ethiopian also received the 2011 AFRAA award for being consistently profitable over the years and has won the "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2011 Award” for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian also won the NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Awards 2009 and "the Airline of the Year 2009 Award" from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern fleet, the airline is well positioned to pursue aggressively the implementation of its 2025 strategic plan to become the leading aviation group in Africa.
For more information about this press release, please contact:
Manager PR & Publications
Ethiopian Airlines
Tel: (251-1) 517-84-07
publicrelations@ethiopianairlines.com
Ethiopian Airlines Press Releases are directly sent to Tigrai Online.
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